Means for illuminating show-windows.



No. 767,484. PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904.

G. K. MALTBY. MEANS FOR ILLUMINATING SHOW WINDOWS.

APPLIOATION FILED mm 27. 1903. N0 MODEL.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J 1/ I 1 1 m E WITN s: I IHJE ITU Jaw I 54 No. 767,484. PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904.

G. K. MALTBY.

MEANS FOR ILLUMINATING SHOW WINDOWS.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 27. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

UNITED STATES Patented August 16, 1904.

PATENT OEEicE.

MEANS FOR ILLUIVIINATING SHOW-WINDOWS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 767,484, dated August 16, 1904.

Application filed June 27, 1903. Serial No. 168,366. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE K. MALTBY, of Newton, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Means for Illuminating Show-Windows, of which the following is a specification.

In large dry-goods houses, as well as in other stores, it is customary to inclose a portion of the store at the window within which to make such display of goods for street inspection as seems desirable. This inclosure is virtually a small room with walls and ceiling to keep the goods displayed free from dust as far as possible, and it ordinarily receives all its natural light from the store-window on the street which forms its front.

Prismatic glass, so called, is now used to a considerable extent in the place of ordinary window-glass for the purpose of deflecting the rays of light, so that they shall pass horizontally or nearly horizontally toward the rear of large stores; but they cannot very well be used to illuminate the display-room of a store-window without interfering with the opportunity for examining the display from the street.

My invention is intended especially to cause the deflection of natural light through the ceiling of such display-room as is above described, preferably without allowing the entrance of dust thereto; and my invention consists, primarily, in a display-room provided with a transparent roof capable of deflecting the light downward onto the goods in the room, and preferably provided with means whereby the direction of the rays of light may be controlled according to the necessities of any given case. p

I have shown my invention embodied in two forms, the preferred form showing means for causing the deflection of the rays so that the light may be thrown upon any given portion of the room, and the other form showing a chamber sealed with non-adjustable deflecting means.

In embodying my invention I preferthat the light which is to be deflected by the roof of the display-room shall have first been deflected from an approximately vertical direction to an approximately horizontal direction, this primary deflection being caused by the use of prismatic glass in a portion of the window above the ceiling of the display-room, so by this means the rear of the store may also be illuminated, and I have shown a construction for this purpose in the drawings; but this is not absolutely necessary to bring about the desired result, although best results are obtained where such primary deflection exists.

My invention will be understood by reference to the drawings, in which Figure l is a vertical section of a displayroom of ordinary construction. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional detail. Figs. 3, i, and 5 show details to be referred to below, and Fig. 6 a modification in vertical section.

A is a base or flooring suitably supported, upon which is built the rear and side walls B of the display-room.

O is the front of the display-room, which consists of a pane of plate-glass set into a suitable frame of which the cross-bar 0 forms also the support for the upper sash of the window.

D is the upper sash of the window and consists, as shown, of a sheet of prismatic glass of any such construction as will receive rays of light coming to it from above and deflect them in a direction more nearly horizontal than that in which they are received. Such glass is now so well understood in the art that it need not be further described.

The roof of the display-room comprises, as shown, an opaque section B, upon the front edge of which are supported two vertical rods 0, and upon the cross-bar 0 are also supported two vertical rods 0', the rods 0 1: being suitably attached to the ceiling c of the wareroom or to some other suitable support above.

F is a sheet of plate-glass supported at its rear upon a suitable frame-piece 7), attached to the rear wall of the show-chamber, the front of said sheet of glass being supported by a hanger c from the rear of the cross bar 0, this sheet of glass F forming the real ceiling to the show-room and being so supported as to make a substantially dust-proof ceiling thereto. Between each pair of rods c c are mounted two rods G, carrying a series of mirrors H H, &c., adjustably connected thereto, the rods G being preferably supported at an angle with the horizontal in order that these mirrors may be more conveniently adjusted at proper angles, so as to deflect the rays of light in the desired manner.

While there may be many Ways of adjusting the angles of these mirrors, I prefer the manner shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, in which one end of one of the mirrors is shown, the view being taken on the section-line 3 3 of Fig 1. Each mirror is provided at each end with a section it, preferably metallic, attached thereto by screws IL, or in anyother desired manner.

[b is a clamp formed of a forked piece which straddles this metallic piece it and is adjustably attached thereto by a thumb-screw if, so that the position of the mirror in the clamp may be adjusted to raise or lower the mirror in the clamp. This clamp 7&2 has a stud It projecting from its rear, which sets into a suitable hole in a boss [2/ a thumb-screw 7L6 being provided to adjust the angle of the clamp If in this boss, and the boss itself is provided with a clamp 7L and screw a by means of which its position on the rod Gr is adjusted. Thus the position of the clamp ]L2 with relation to the rod G may be adjusted and the angle of the mirror with relation thereto may also be adjusted. This construction, however, is capable of still further adjustment, for the angle of the rods G, and consequently of all the mirrors, may be adjusted with relation to the plane of the upper sash D, and this is accomplished by the means shown in Fig. 5. Each rod is telescopic, being composed of a sleeve or tube and a rod sliding within it, these .two parts being indicated by the letters 9 g. The rod g and the sleeve g are each pivoted at g to a hookshaped clamp 9 which surrounds one of the rods 0 c and is provided with a set-screw g, by means of which it may be clamped to its rod. 'If, therefore, it is desired to raise the rods, and consequently the mirrors, at the rear end, it may be done by unscrewing the rear set-screws g and raising the clamps g on the rods 6, the necessary change in the length of the rods Gr being compensated for by the lengthening of the rods G. The screws g are then tightened again. If desired, of course the front ends of the rods may be raised, and if the rear ends of the rods are too high they may be lowered in like manner. The rods and mirrors thus form a deflecting-frame capable of many adjustments, especially where the position of each mirror may be adjusted about its longitudinal axis, as shown. The mirrors may be of any desired size. It will be seen that by this means light may be thrown upon any or all parts of the show-chamber, or it may be concentrated upon one part if thought best, and, moreover, the adjustment of the mirrors may be very nicely accomplished to bring about such result, as will be seen from Fig. 1, where it will be noticed that one mirror H hangs quite below the rod G, the next mirror H rising slightly above it, the next mirror H rising a little higher, &c., the mirror H being practically supported from its base, so that it is almost entirely above the line of the rod Gr. Moreover, intermediate mirrors I H may be hung with their reflecting-faces rearward, so as to take the reflection from the mirrors H H and throw the light received from them toward the rear upper wall of the show-chamber. It is apparent that various combinations of these mirrors may be utilized, and almost any desired illuminating effect attainable by natural light may be secured in the show-chamber.

In Figs. 1 and 6 the course of the rays of light are indicated by dotted lines.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a modification and simplification of this idea, in which, instead of the roof comprising the reflecting apparatus, such as has been above described, and a dust-proof transparent ceiling to the displayroom, I have combined the reflecting and closing elements in one prismatic roof J, which combines the possibility of deflecting the light, together with the dust-proof quality secured in the construction of Fig. 1, by means of plate-glass O. This construction is of value for the reason that the light deflected from the sheet of prismatic glass forming a portion of the front window and caught by the horizontal sheet of prismatic glass (indicated at J) will be thrown downward; but it does not secure the adjustable opportunity which makes the first construction above described of great value.

The value of this construction will manifest itself to any one who has had experience with dressing shop-windows, as not only is the device dust-proof, so that the goods may be kept clean from dust constantly arising from the store itself, as well as from the street, but the amount of available light may be increased and distributed as desired into every portion of the window, and, moreover, this construction will largely overcome the reflection which often throws back light from the plate-glass in the front of the window into the eyes of the observer, all this being accomplished at the same time that the light thrown into the rear of the store is increased over the amount usually received there.

Of course the plainglass sheet F may be omitted and, if desired, the dust may be kept from the display by carrying the walls B to the ceiling of the display-room, if thought best. Moreover, while mirrors are the best reflectors for this purpose other means for reflecting or deflecting light may be substituted therefor and the means for adjusting the reflectors may be altered without departing from the spirit of my invention, which primarily includes means for downwardly defleeting natural light upon the goods in a display-room, whether accomplished by a reflecting or refracting medium.

hat I claim as my invention isl. A show-window comprising two sections, a vertical plain-glass section and above it a vertical prismatic-glass section, and having a display-room arranged therein,said display-room having a roof of the kind described, whereby rays of light entering the upper section of said show-window will be reflected downwardly to join with the horizontal rays from the lower section upon the display in the show-window, as described.

2. In a show-window, a display-room extending part way only to the top of the window, having a roof of the kind described, whereby rays of light passing in through the top of the window will be received upon said roof and deflected downward to join with the horizontal rays coming from the lower part of said window, as described.

3. In a show-window, the display room above described, having a transparent ceiling and a series of independent pivoted mirrors suitably supported above said ceiling,said ceil ingbeing below thetop of the window, whereby rays of light passing through the upper part of the window and above said ceiling will be deflected downward upon the display of the display-room, as described.

4:. A show-window comprising a prismaticglass section and a plain-glass section, a display-room approximating in height the height of said plain-glass section, a transparent ceiling to said display-room, and a series of independent deflecting-mirrors located above said transparent ceiling and in line with rays of light passing inward through said prismatic section, as set forth.

5. The show-window above described having a prismatic section above and a plain-glass section below, a display-room approximating in height the height of said plain-glass section, a transparent ceiling to said displayroom, a series of independently-adjustable deflecting-mirrors located abovesaid transparent ceiling and adapted to deflect rays of light received from said prismatic section downward upon said display in said display-chamber, as set forth.

6. A display room ceiling comprising a frame within which is set a transparent plate of glass or the like, in combination with a series of independently-adjustable mirrors situated above said plate, and means whereby each mirror is independently adjusted.

7. In a show-room illuminator, a series' lf mirrors adapted to be adjusted about a long? tudinal axis, and means whereby they are so adjusted, said means comprising a clamp mechanism located at each end of each mirror and mounted on an axis parallel with the length of each mirror, and means whereby said clamp is held in place, as described.

8. A deflecting-frame and means whereby said frame is supported to adjust the line of its front and rear edges comprising sleeves attached to extensible socket devices situated on the corners of said frame and adapted to slide vertically on rods, said sleeves may as set forth.

9. A deflecting-frame, a series of independently adjustable axial mirrors, and means whereby the height of each mirror may be independently adjusted, as described.

10. A deflecting-frame having a plurality of sleeves hinged thereto on opposite edges, in combination with a plurality of supportingrods each adapted to slide through one of said sleeves, and means such as a set-screw for clamping each sleeve to its rod whereby the angle at which said frame will lie to the horizontal may be determined by the distance of the rods on one side of the frame from those on the other side, as described.

11. In a show-window comprising two sections, a lower vertical plain-glass section and above it a vertical prismatic-glass section, a show-room as described, in combination with a reflector adapted to be raised and lowered, whereby light entering the upper section of said show-window will be reflected adjustably downward to join with light coming through the lower section of said window.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my name this 28th day of April, 1903.

GEORGE K. MALTBY.

be clamped to the said rods,

WVitnesses:

GEORGE O. G. CoALE, M. E. FLAI-IERTY.

and means whereby the 

